Didn't the New Republic used to be progressive?

[LittleClarkie]

Or did someone tell me that they're Leiberman Democrats now?

Oye vey.

Dig this one, under the headline "By pushing for a filibuster, Kerry alienated fellow Democrats"

http://www.tnr.com/user/nregi.mhtml?i=20060213&s=crowley021306

ON THE HILL
Swiss Miss
by Michael Crowley
Post date 02.03.06 | Issue date 02.13.06

Moments before Monday's vote on whether to filibuster the nomination of Samuel Alito, John Kerry was speaking to a near-empty Senate chamber. In his typical stentorian fashion, Kerry was arguing for a filibuster of the Supreme Court nominee, an effort the Massachusetts senator had single-handedly initiated a few days earlier to the open chagrin of fellow Democrats like Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid. "What could possibly be more important than this?" asked Kerry, who stood alone amid a sea of empty desks. But Kerry's plea for relevancy didn't cause much of a stir until his Massachusetts colleague and filibuster partner, Ted Kennedy, rose to unleash a bellowing anti-Alito stemwinder. With a reddening face and hoarse voice, Kennedy waved his arms and smacked his podium with his open hand. The commotion caused a crew of usually blasé reporters to scurry from their workstations and into the Senate press balcony to watch. "There is nothing that's more important than the vote we cast on the Supreme Court, except sending young Americans to war!" Kennedy thundered. When the old lion's mighty lungs finally ceased, Kerry strolled over and firmly shook Kennedy's hand. From up in the press section, one could overhear Kennedy say, "Thanks, John," in commendation of Kerry's leading role in the last-ditch fight against Alito. Before he departed, Kerry threw a noticeable glance up at the now-crowded press section, clearly measuring the response....

So what's this guy's malfunction?

To get the rest, you have to register. No thanks.

[leftchick]

1. it is considered so called "centrist" or "moderate" now

sound familiar? :eyes:

[LittleClarkie]

4. I was right then

Leiberman Dems. Still and all, Crowley went out of his way to take an unnecessary stab at Kerry.

I personally think that centrist and moderate are not quite the same. Centrist would seem to be farther to the right.

But then I guess you can have centrist progressives as well, ala Dean.

So confusing sometimes.

I'm considered a moderate here. But I'm not a Lieberman Democrat. Of course, it's all kind of subjective. Here in the suburbs of Wisconsin, I'm considered a raging liberal. Even got called a Communist once. Depends on who's lookin' at me, apparently.

[Tom Joad]

2. TNR suggested the US give military backing to Saddam.

Daniel Pipes, a big supporter of Israel and US policies in the Middle East, penned this classic in TNR in 1983, when saddam was "killing his own people".

Back Iraq
It's Time for a U.S. Tilt

See more here: http://tomjoad.org/pipes.htm
That page summarizes the article, then gives a link to a pdf copy of it. (fair quality only, sorry)
Interesting to note, Pipes is a darling of the Bush jr, and the ADL and AIPAC, perhaps because of his extremist anti-Arab views.

[blm]

3. Crowley attacks Kerry again - big surprise - Is he Candy's lil bro?

kissin cousin? He writes just like she reports.

[LittleClarkie]

6. Was Candy the "Green Tea" lady?

That was the stupidest comment I'd ever seen. Lipton makes green tea. How "elitist" could it be?

[blm]

16. Bush's number one fan on CNN.

.

[CAcyclist]

5. It used to be liberal but became "centrist",

I believe in the late '80's. I can't remember if it was just a change of editors or if it got bought out. I have the details in a book somewhere...

[mandyky]

7. They endorsed the IWR

aand the invasion of Iraq, so "used to be" was before that.

[jonnyblitz]

8. read the wikipedia entry. centrist on foreign policy, liberal on

social issues, very pro-Israel(influence of owner, since 1975, Marty Peretz).

<snip>
Many would describe the modern TNR as centrist in the realms of foreign and (to a lesser degree) economic policy, but relatively progressive on social issues. The magazine diverges most notably from the various left-wing publications on the subject of the Middle East; Peretz and foreign correspondent Yossi Klein Halevi are both particularly ardent supporters of Israel. (As a result, some critics on the left consider TNR essentially neoconservative; others have jokingly described it as "the Jewish Commentary").
<snip>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_Republic

I remember that right wing gay dude Andrew Sullivan was editor in the early 90's. I believe Michael Kinsley(the guy from Crossfire on CNN in the 90's and Slate online) used to be an editor there , too

[LittleClarkie]

13. Interesting. I remember reading that the neocon movement

essentially took the worst parts of the old left and the right, and threw them together. Or something like that. Been a while, and I can't remember where I read that now.

[Pirate Smile]

9. I remember the run up to the Iraq War when they would have some

Con/Neocon and for the liberal or Democratic side would be a war supporter from The New Republic.

This was how I looked at home in front of my TV - :wow:

:spank:
:grr:
:scared:
:banghead:

[DemGirl7]

10. It is nothing more than another outlet for the DLC n/t

[Selatius]

11. Actually, the Democratic Party, as a whole, is CENTRIST leaning rightwing

If it were center-left or even unabashedly leftwing, it would have larger contingents of socialists as members of the party, and it would've fought much harder for things such as universal health care and superior public education. As it stands, we have none of the first, and our education system is failing. Add on top of that weak labor standards, environmental standards, and one of the lowest minimum wage laws of all industrialized countries.

If you asked me why it's so rightwing, I'd simply point at the corporate news media's condition of the public over the decades. Most people, when asked, are moderates who lean towards the right because the message that competition for limited resources and the allocation of resources according to ability to pay is the best solution.

Most Democrats growing up in this country, take and carry those ideas into the party. Those who, for whatever reason, are further left than anybody else invariably are left out, but it's rather sad commentary that somebody like Ted Kennedy or Dennis Kucinich is considered far-left in the US when they're considered center-left in many European republics. Sad commentary indeed.

When I say "centrist," I mean standing in the middle equally distant from either pure socialism or pure capitalism. I'm not talking about American centrism, which is somewhere solidly in the right.

[LittleClarkie]

14. All relative to who's lookin' atcha

I'm a Commie in some circles. Been told so to my face.

[Selatius]

15. I consider myself a socialist, actually

I'm an admirer of Noam Chomsky (that's why he's in my avatar), a libertarian socialist (aka anarcho-socialist or simply anarchist), but given the state of things in the world, it's my sober conclusion that exploitative capitalism probably cannot be uprooted at this time, but until such time that the situation is ready for a change to a society built on equality and shared resources, I would only believe in capitalism the same as I believe in nuclear power: A force that should be contained, chained, bottled, and regulated. Otherwise, it will destroy everything it touches, and that ultimately includes humanity.

Because I'm a socialist, I'm all but unable to run for any office, for the majority reject my ideas even inside the party. The only socialist I know who is in government today is Bernie Sanders. Just one guy. I believe if the corporate news media's grip on the flow of public information was never allowed to take root, perhaps the country would be more leftwing than it has been in a very long time.

[kenny blankenship]

12. Little brother to the Neo-Fascist Right, doesn't "want to get left behind"

in the big post-Reagan lurch towards Anschluss.
In other words: not worth a flaming damn and hasn't been for more than a decade.

[hvn_nbr_2]

17. Way back, during Viet Nam, they were liberal.

I haven't followed them so I don't know when the change happened or if it was slow or sudden.

[eridani]

18. Yes, they were against Vietnam

They've turned into imperialist apologists since the 80s though.